Toronto Blue Jays 7 — New York Yankees 10
Seven-run 4th inning highlights tonight’s 10-7 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Phil Hughes started for the Yankees and would have the strikeout going, especially in one inning. Hughes would just last 5 innings due to his increased pitch count, likely from his strikeout total. Hughes would have 9 strikeouts and walked 3. He completed the rare 4-strikeout inning in the 4th. J.P. Arencibia, Adeiny Hechavarria, Anthony Gose, and Brett Lawrie would all strikeout but Hechavarria would reach on a passed ball on Russell Martin. The 4-strikeout inning was only done by one other Yankee, A.J. Burnett during the 2011 season. It wasn’t all good for Hughes though. In the 3rd inning, Hughes created his own problem inning but was also helped out by some poor decisions by the Blue Jays. Hughes led off the 3rd with a walk to outfielder Anthony Gose and a fielder’s choice put Gose at 2nd. Gose would make a poor choice when he attempted to steal 3rd base and was caught easily by Russell Martin. A hit by pitch, single, and walk would load the bases for outfielder Moises Sierra. The Blue Jays outfielder would get hit in the ribs by a fastball and would bring in the 2nd run of the game for the Blue Jays before Hughes got out of the jam with a strikeout. After receiving a tremendous amount of run support, Hughes would give up a 2-run home run to Moises Sierra, the 34th home run he allowed this season. The big lead would appear to be more than enough until the 8th inning. Cory Wade started the inning and immediately gave up a solo home run to Kelly Johnson. He would give up 2 more hits and get a strikeout before being replaced with Joba Chamberlain. Two more runs would score with Joba on the mound and what started as a 6-run lead became a 3-run lead, a much closer game than anyone had expected. After pitching in both games of yesterday’s doubleheader, including a 4-out save in the 1st game, Rafael Soriano was deemed unavailable and David Robertson was brought in for the save. Converting just his 2nd save of the season, Robertson would strikeout the side and give the Yankees the win. It’s not too alarming that the Yankees bullpen surrendered a dominant lead because Cory Wade is not a primary part of the Yankees bullpen nor will he for higher-pressured roles.
The hero of the doubleheader kept his bat as Ichiro Suzuki shined in his 3rd straight game. In the 3rd inning of tonight’s game, Ichiro Suzuki got the Yankees on the board with a solo home run to right field. Then in the 4th inning, Ichiro came up with the bases loaded and no outs. He would continue his hot hitting as he put a double into right field to bring in 2 runs. This would also knock starter Aaron Laffey out of the game. The Yankees would not stop the outburst though as Derek Jeter would single in a run with the bases loaded and Nick Swisher would clear them all with a grand slam, his 21st home run of the season to highlight the 7-run 4th inning that gave the Yankees an 8-1 lead. Jayson Nix and Derek Jeter would bring in 2 runs in the 5th inning and give the pitching enough to get the win. The Yankees hit 5 for 11 with runners in scoring position and continue showing that the offense is on point as they figured out multiple ways to bring in runs and to take advantage of a pitcher’s poor command. Despite striking out 11 times, the Yankees also walked 8 times, many of the times were loading the bases and putting the pitcher into a deeper hole.
This win and the off-day for the Baltimore Orioles gives the Yankees a 1 game lead in the American League East division.
Win – Phil Hughes (16-12)
Loss – Aaron Laffey (3-6)
Save – David Robertson (2)
Notables
Blue Jays
*Kelly Johnson – 2 for 5, R, 2B, Solo Home Run (15) in the 8th, 2 RBI (53)
*Moises Sierra – 1 for 4, R, 2-Run Home Run (5) in the 5th, 3 RBI (13)
Yankees
*Ichiro Suzuki – 2 for 4, 2 R, 2B, Solo Home Run (8) in the 3rd, 3 RBI (50)
*Nick Swisher – 1 for 4, R, Grand Slam (21) in the 4th, 4 RBI (83)
Current Yankees Record: 86-63
